Whalefall: Austin Abrams digs deeper into his new film, Resident Evil

Austin Abrams’ fall continues with Whale fallhis second solo genre exercise in the space of a month.

Autumn Belle’s Emotional Survival Story Joins resident Evil in theaters as the latter continues to build on its worldwide box office gross of $324 million. In Whale fallCo-written and directed by Brian Duffield, Abrams plays college student Jay Gardiner, who reluctantly returns home to California’s central coast a year after his estranged father, Mitt (Josh Brolin), responds to his diagnosis of terminal mesothelioma by committing suicide at sea.

In a decision partly influenced by the fact that his mother (Elisabeth Shue) and two sisters (Jane Levy and Emily Rudd) must visit an empty grave, Jay sets out to find his father’s remains at the bottom of the ocean near the monastery beach. The underlying hope is that this gesture will help him resolve their lingering differences stemming from his overly strict sailor upbringing.

But the plan fails almost immediately when a sperm whale chasing a squid also swallows Jay, trapping him in its multi-chambered stomach. As resident Evil, Whale fall only gives its protagonist an hour to achieve his goal, which in this case means escaping the whale’s bowels before its oxygen tank runs dry.

When The Hollywood Reporter I met Abrams for the last time resident Evilhe refused to declare which film ended up being the most grueling ordeal. He certainly didn’t complain about splitting his head in an elevator jump. resident Evilthe third act of or acting baffled by being nearly crushed to death by a 150-pound blood bag in the second act.

But now that I’ve seen Whale fallit seems the only thing worse than actually being in a whale’s stomach is pretending to be there. Yet Abrams still doesn’t complain about being crammed into a tiny whale’s stomach with a film crew, while a half-dozen crew members surrounding the practical gut, wielding a gimbal, tossed it around like a wet rag doll.

Duffield — who also collaborates with resident Evil filmmaker Zach Cregger on the next Siren head – thinks his film wins the prize for putting their shared lead to the test, given that his extremities were unrestrained in resident Evil.

Abrams, meanwhile, continues to straddle the fence in gentlemanly fashion. “(The ability to move my limbs) was the most enjoyable aspect of resident Evil. But they both have their advantages and their (pitfalls),” he says. THR in support of Whale fallReleased in theaters on October 16.

To prepare for a diver’s worst nightmare, Abrams obtained the necessary certifications. He also visited a sperm whale sanctuary on a Caribbean island. Although the trip didn’t guarantee encountering the wild animals, Abrams was lucky when they appeared for him, something they hadn’t done in the previous nine days.

“It was beautiful. It was peaceful. It was the opposite of what you thought it would be. You immediately know and feel how gentle and loving they are,” Abrams recalled.

He also walked around his neighborhood in full diving gear, just to get used to the extra weight. While his neighbors weren’t alarmed enough by the unusual sight to call security, Abrams wasn’t so lucky while filming at Radford Studios in Studio City.

“There’s a point where Jay becomes visibly more distressed and more bloated,” Abrams shares. “I remember walking through the parking lot at the time and security calling me over just because I looked so fucked up.”

Abrams, who generally avoids talking too much about himself on a personal level, reveals that his family is a little upset by how often his characters die in movies, a trend that began with his first film, in 2011. Ticking clock. A few years later, in his major studio debut, Abrams worked alongside Ryan Gosling in Gangster Squad until his shoeshine boy character catches a bullet during a police ambush near a newsstand. (Brolin also stars in the 2013 detective pic, but didn’t share the screen with his future Weapons And Whale fall co-star.)

Unwittingly, Abrams took a page from Gosling’s playbook as he prepared for his back-to-back shoots on Whale fall And resident Evil in 2025. Before the shooting of Peter Jackson The beautiful bones In 2007, Gosling arrived with a beard and 60 extra pounds. Just 26 at the time, Gosling felt he had to sell the appearance of a grieving father to two teenagers and a 4-year-old. Jackson was so upset by Gosling’s unexpected character decisions that he recast him with Mark Wahlberg.

Job-Whale fallwith little time to prepare resident EvilWhile filming in Prague, Abrams also took the “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission” approach to her own unexpected weight gain. He wanted his medical messenger, Bryan, to look ill-equipped to handle a zombie outbreak, and seeking approval beforehand might have led financiers and producers, who generally want the most physically attractive lead actor possible, to discourage the idea. (Even Keanu Reeves’ beard almost cost John Wick its funding.) Fortunately, Cregger loved Abrams’ surprise choice.

“I wanted Bryan to be a guy that you look at and think he’s not going to make it,” Abrams says. “I just had a strong urge to do it. If you say you want to look a little different, it’s hard for people to imagine that. So it felt like something had to be done, and I just went with it.”

Below, in conversation with THRAbrams also discusses the careful treatment of a particular letter in Whale fall.

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I already asked you which film made you suffer the most and you chose to be Swiss on this subject. But now that I’ve seen Whale fallthere is no doubt that it was more unbearable than resident Evil. Are you ready to get started now?

(Laughter.) No, man. You said it, not me.

Your Whale fall director, Brian Duffieldwasn’t proud of it, but he immediately took credit for the fact that his film was the more punishing of the two.

Did he do it?

He said: “The fact that Austin can move his arms and legs freely Resident Wrong given Whale fall the edge.

That was the good thing about Resident Wrong. But they both have their advantages and their (pitfalls).

I’m curious about your family’s reaction to these two new films. Was it difficult for them to take care of their little boy in such precarious situations?

I don’t know. I guess it could be to some extent, but I also feel like everyone takes it well. I feel like they’d prefer if I died less in some of them, but other than that I think they’re doing okay.

Yes, this is a trend in your work. The line was particularly brutal.

Yeah, man. It’s been like this since the beginning. I don’t know why.

It’s funny you say that because I’m about to reference the first big one.

Pursue!

Well the first thing that struck me Whale fall it was how different you were as Jay, especially since you filmed it right before resident Evil. Then I read that you gained weight for Bryan in resident Evil. Given the short time you had in between, did you microwave vats of Häagen-Dazs once you got to Prague and gorge yourself?

(Laughter.) Oh man. Yeah, you do everything you can. I wanted Bryan to be a guy that you look at and think he’s not going to make it. I didn’t want him to look like someone who runs laps in his free time or something like that. So it was a short period, but there wasn’t really any scientific data on it. You do everything you can to get where you need to go. The Häagen-Dazs method? I don’t know. Pure ice is best.

It was a bold decision not to tell Zach Cregger that you were gaining a few pounds. There’s a famous story involving your shoeshine client, Ryan Gosling. (In Gangster SquadGosling’s character urged Abrams’ young shoeshine boy to go home, but he did not listen and fell victim to mob-related shootings.)

(Laughter.) Shoeshine customer, it’s funny.

He showed up to a Peter Jackson set, 60 pounds heavier after drinking melted Häagen-Dazs, but he didn’t tell Jackson he was doing it. So this is the reason why Mark Wahlberg is now the one who starred in The beautiful bones.

Yeah, but I just had a strong desire to do it. So I left from there. If you say you want to look a little different, it’s hard for people to imagine it. So it felt like something had to be done, and I just went with it.

More importantly, Zach loved this choice.

I hope so.

He said it.

(Laughter.) Yeah.

Obviously you’ve been a great sport filming the inside of each whale’s stomach, but was there ever a day you had to go out early because it was just too much?

I don’t know if we had this situation. The nature of the film meant welcoming all the difficulties that came with it. When something is well received, it makes things less difficult. You don’t want to get out of any difficulty. You want to keep it there (for the sake of the scene).

I read that you walk around your neighborhood in scuba gear to get used to the weight. Did your neighbors give you weird looks or call the police on a guy lurking around in a scuba gear?

I don’t remember if there were any…